Amento fires his town planner

HAMDEN  Mayor Carl Amento fired a top municipal administrator Friday and ac-cepted the resignations of two others, saying he wants "strong management" as he enters his third term.

Rebecca Baker Erwin

Published
12:00 am EST, Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Amento announced the depar-ture of Town Planner Roger OBrien and resignations of Fi-nance Director Jim Hliva and Don Proto, the director of con-struction and project manage-ment, on Monday.

"Some department heads were starting to lose their focus and their edge, and some keep getting better and better," Amento said.

"We want to separate the two."

Hliva could not be reached for comment Monday at his Trum-bull home. OBrien said he did not want to respond to the mayors statement.

"Id like to maintain the high road," he said.

Hliva turned in his resignation on Thursday. OBrien received a letter from Amento Friday say-ing he no longer had a job.

Amento said he gave both men the same option to resign.

OBrien said he was never offered a chance to leave.

Proto, meanwhile, told Amento in a Dec. 7 letter that his last day would be Dec. 31, six months before the end of his contract. Amento said he would not replace him.

Protos resignation came weeks after Amento placed him on ad-ministrative duty and publicly said he "lost faith" in him after a disagreement about repairs at the Newhall Community Center.

Proto said he has been looking to leave for almost eight months.

He said the major construction projects he was overseeing are almost complete.

"I was the one who initiated it," he said, referring to his resig-nation. "It was just a matter of time."

Personnel Director Ken Kelley said Proto is reporting to work and will do so until his last day.

Amento had suspended Hliva without pay for two weeks in August 2000 after learning Hliva lied on his resume about his edu-cation.

Hliva, who was Trumbulls fi-nance director for 10 years, said he went to college but had a bo-gus degree from a "diploma mill." The lie caused some mem-bers of the Legislative Council to mistrust Hliva and question his decisions.

Amento said the stigma of the false resume "may have played some part" in his decision to ask Hliva to leave. But he defended Hlivas work, saying he helped the town save money by refi-nancing bonds and kept costs under budget.

"I believe both (Hliva and OBrien) performed their duties admirably," the mayor said.

Amento said Hliva and OBrien were both experts in their fields but he wants their replacements to have more "management background."

"What may have served us well these past four years may not necessarily be the best fit now," Amento said, reading from a statement.

Amento said he had little choice but to make the changes right before the holidays because municipal officials start looking for work after the November elections.

"Administrations are changing now," he said. "Free agents are available."

Meanwhile, the town might audit certain sections of some departments, Amento said. He did not elaborate, saying he hoped to announce the details soon.

Miller will study how the Planning and Zoning Department works and recommend ways, if needed, to restructure the de-partment.

The town has hired Stephen W. Hoff, who has been the finance director for the town of Litchfield, as a full-time "finance consultant," and Brian J. Miller, a municipal planner, will be the towns part-time "planning consultant."